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Christmas Customs and Traditions
Christmas Customs and Traditions
- GenresChristmas
111 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
Frank Muir
67 books8 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy screenwriter and radio and television personality. From 1977 on he also wrote children's books based on his family dog, What-a-Mess. In 1997 he published his autobiography.
Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy screenwriter and radio and television personality. From 1977 on he also wrote children's books based on his family dog, What-a-Mess. In 1997 he published his autobiography.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 18, 2021
This was an interesting find, folk traditions, customs, extracts and quotes covering most of the winter half of the year. This book starts at All Souls Day and finishes with Plough Monday in January. Interesting customs such as Hodening, Mari Lwyd, Stir up Sunday, Wassailing, The Lord of Misrule and facts and quotes about Christmas and its traditions.
June 2, 2013
A great little compendium of Christmas lore. Historical information, amusing anecdotes, and Christmas related snippets from literature. Organized around significant dates (starting with Haloween, for some strange reason) and going until the 7th of January, Muir includes information and humour related to each important day.
December 15, 2023
A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MANY CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS
Author Frank Muir wrote in the Introduction to this 1977 book, “Telling the story of Christmas is like peeling away centuries of old wallpapers… The early Christians wanted to venerate the birthday of the Savior but … neither Luke nor Matthew had mentioned the time of day, nor the date in the year. Many and furious debates were held to decide upon a date. During the fourth century the Christians of Western Europe settled on 25 December… The reasoning behind this held a pleasant logic; 25 March was a date sacred since pre-Christian times… the Church took over the date to commemorate the Annunciation of the Virgin… The date for the Nativity was reached by adding nine months on to 25 March!” (Pg. 10)
He reports, “The picture of Santa in the mind’s eye, the lovable old man with white hair and whiskers, red coat and cap… are American inventions of the nineteenth century… Thomas Nast … drew versions of the poet Clement Clarke Moore’s St. Nick and called him Santa Claus… his Santa wore a jump-suit of fur and a little round hat, but he did have the beard and whiskers, sleigh and reindeer.” (Pg. 29)
He notes, “Mistletoe was always known to have played a central part in the rituals of the Druids and so it was never really accepted by the Church… Kissing under the mistletoe is peculiar to Britain and the origins of the custom are unknown. It may have had something to do with the Druidical belief in the powers of fertility.” (Pg. 45)
He explains, “in England the tradition of a tree at Christmas is only about a hundred and forty years old. Before that it was almost entirely a German tradition… St. Boniface … was said to have chopped down a sacred oak beneath which human sacrifices had been offered. As the oak fell, a young fir tree miraculously appeared in its place… The Germans also believed that Martin Luther decorated the Christmas tree… he took with him an uprooted fir tree and fixed candles on its branches to remind children of the heavens from which Christ descended to save us.” (Pg. 46)
He recounts, “The Puritans decided to do away with Christmas altogether. The act of 1652 … abolished Christmas… and there were no Christmas masses or festivities of any sort for eight years… In 1660 back came the monarchy and back came Christmas. It may not have been celebrated with quite the same lavishness, but it was, to a great many people, a welcome return.” (Pg. 66-67)
He points out, “Unfortunately … the Julian calendar overestimated the length of the year by eleven minutes fifteen seconds… By the sixteenth century, the calendar was ten days out. In 1582 … Pope Gregory XII … chopped off the spare ten days. This new Gregorian calendar was adopted throughout Catholic Europe… Before the calendar was reformed, England celebrated Christmas on the equivalent of 6 January by our modern, Gregorian, reckoning. Which is why January 5 is known as Old Christmas Eve.” (Pg. 97)
This book may interest those studying the history and development of Christmas customs.”
Author Frank Muir wrote in the Introduction to this 1977 book, “Telling the story of Christmas is like peeling away centuries of old wallpapers… The early Christians wanted to venerate the birthday of the Savior but … neither Luke nor Matthew had mentioned the time of day, nor the date in the year. Many and furious debates were held to decide upon a date. During the fourth century the Christians of Western Europe settled on 25 December… The reasoning behind this held a pleasant logic; 25 March was a date sacred since pre-Christian times… the Church took over the date to commemorate the Annunciation of the Virgin… The date for the Nativity was reached by adding nine months on to 25 March!” (Pg. 10)
He reports, “The picture of Santa in the mind’s eye, the lovable old man with white hair and whiskers, red coat and cap… are American inventions of the nineteenth century… Thomas Nast … drew versions of the poet Clement Clarke Moore’s St. Nick and called him Santa Claus… his Santa wore a jump-suit of fur and a little round hat, but he did have the beard and whiskers, sleigh and reindeer.” (Pg. 29)
He notes, “Mistletoe was always known to have played a central part in the rituals of the Druids and so it was never really accepted by the Church… Kissing under the mistletoe is peculiar to Britain and the origins of the custom are unknown. It may have had something to do with the Druidical belief in the powers of fertility.” (Pg. 45)
He explains, “in England the tradition of a tree at Christmas is only about a hundred and forty years old. Before that it was almost entirely a German tradition… St. Boniface … was said to have chopped down a sacred oak beneath which human sacrifices had been offered. As the oak fell, a young fir tree miraculously appeared in its place… The Germans also believed that Martin Luther decorated the Christmas tree… he took with him an uprooted fir tree and fixed candles on its branches to remind children of the heavens from which Christ descended to save us.” (Pg. 46)
He recounts, “The Puritans decided to do away with Christmas altogether. The act of 1652 … abolished Christmas… and there were no Christmas masses or festivities of any sort for eight years… In 1660 back came the monarchy and back came Christmas. It may not have been celebrated with quite the same lavishness, but it was, to a great many people, a welcome return.” (Pg. 66-67)
He points out, “Unfortunately … the Julian calendar overestimated the length of the year by eleven minutes fifteen seconds… By the sixteenth century, the calendar was ten days out. In 1582 … Pope Gregory XII … chopped off the spare ten days. This new Gregorian calendar was adopted throughout Catholic Europe… Before the calendar was reformed, England celebrated Christmas on the equivalent of 6 January by our modern, Gregorian, reckoning. Which is why January 5 is known as Old Christmas Eve.” (Pg. 97)
This book may interest those studying the history and development of Christmas customs.”
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews